Here's how much Bernie Sanders' Free College for All plan would cost

New York just made college free. And if this new Senate bill becomes law, free college will go national.

But free isn’t free — this plan would cost a lot of money.

We’re talking about the bill Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a bill last week, which would abolish tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities for students from households making $125,000 or less per year, and would make community college tuition-free for students from all income levels.

“Our job — if we are smart — is to make it easier for people to get the education they need, not harder,” Sanders said. “The United States not so many years ago in terms of the percentage of young people who graduated college — we were number one. Today we are in eleventh place. … That is not a prescription for a strong American economy of the future. It is a prescription for failure, and together we are going to change that.”

The U.S. once led the world in the percentage of young college graduates. Today, we are in 11th place. That is unacceptable. #CollegeforAll

Sanders said the bill would also cut student loan interest rates in half by allowing Americans to refinance their debts “at the lowest interest rates possible” and triple funding for the Federal Work-Study program.

Over the next decade, the federal government is projected to make over $70 billion in profits off of student loan programs. #CollegeforAll

Sanders admitted that the plan is costly — and wants Wall Street to pay for it.

“Now, some people say that this legislation is expensive, and they’re right. It is,” he said. “Well, I’ll tell you how we’re going to pay for it. We are going to ask Wall Street to end their speculation. We’re going to put a speculation tax on Wall Street.”

The estimated cost of the program is $47 billion a year. That would cover, Sanders estimates, 67% of the $70 billion it costs for tuition at public colleges and universities. States, he proposes, would cover the remaining 33%.

A “speculation tax” would charge those in trade markets for each bond, stock or derivative they sell. It’s often referred to as a “Robin Hood tax.”

Some have praised Sanders for following through on proposals he advocated for as part of his presidential campaign in 2016.